Ghosts and Legends in Wales
- Tintern Abbey

Hunting for
haunting stories in Wales brings us to
Tintern Abbey, a Cistercian Abbey on the Welsh bank
of the Wye River

Story and Pictures by M. Maxine
George

Our bus moved along the winding
road through Monmouthshire, passing forested hills
and peaceful meadows enroute to the beautiful Wye
Valley. As we came over the crest of a hill, the
soaring ruins of Tintern Abbey came into view.
This spectacular ancient ruin, on
the Welsh bank of the River Wye, was the source of
inspiration for poems written by Alfred, Lord
Tennyson and William Wordsworth. Tintern Abbey was also
the inspiration for several paintings by the famous
artist J. M. W. Turner in 1795. It wasn't
the poetic or artistic inspiration that I was looking for
though, it may have been the inspiration for
Tennyson's words, "full for me of its bygone
memories." Did Tennyson feel the presence of
the spirits who lived there in bygone days?
I was interested in learning about the spirits
that may be haunting Tintern.

Founded in 1131, this abbey is said
to be haunted by knights in shining armour and
some of the many monks who once lived there. I
wouldn’t blame the ghosts for hanging in there;
the place and the setting are truly awesome!
Local folklore is that the Devil used to preach
from a rocky outcrop, attempting to lure the
Abbey’s Monks away from their faith. The
Devil could not have been totally successful
though as at least one monk is said to frequently
be seen praying near one of the arches.

In its prime Tintern Abbey, a
Cistercian monastery, may have been home to as
many as 400 monks and abbots. For many years
the monks appear to have lived a life of
idyllic bliss. They may have believed they were in
the abode of the angels living in the tranquil Wye
Valley. However, many of those holy
residents are believed to have come to untimely
sudden deaths, when the plague, the Black Death
ran rampant thought-out the land decimating the
population of the British Isle. This left them
with fewer people to maintain the Abbey and its
lands. Then the tides of religious
persecution under Henry VIII forced the closing of
this and many other religious refuges. It was
abandoned in 1536, 400 years after it was founded.
Is it any wonder the picturesque Tintern Abbey is
believed to be haunted?

A hair-raising legend has also
come down from the locals. A group of young men
visited the site intent on searching for
antiquities. They employed some local men to dig
in the grounds nearby. Instead of antiquities they
turned up two ancient skeletons. Far from being creeped out, the men were pleased with their
find. They stopped within the Abbey ruins to
celebrate their discovery, with possibly a little
food and libation. In moments, the day turned
nasty, dark ominous clouds threatened, flashes of
lightening and roaring thunder claps disturbed the
previously peaceful day. Mist shrouded the ruins,
but suddenly light seemed to illuminate an
armour-clad knight, with his visor up, his
piercing eyes looking right at them. Hazy figures
of monks and abbots began to appear and closed in
all around them. As the ghostly specters stared
at them, the horrified men fled in terror.
However, on this sunny March day, we Canadians
leisurely roamed through the peaceful site
undisturbed by any of the legendary ghosts said to
haunt the place.